


What is Lost Can be Found

by TheDumbestAvenger



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Good Friend Ned Leeds, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapped Peter Parker, Minor Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDumbestAvenger/pseuds/TheDumbestAvenger
Summary: One day, one mission, one second taking his eye off the ball was all it took. Now Peter was gone, and Tony was left in the dust. Again.After receiving a lead, a chance to bring Peter home, Tony will do anything to get back the boy he lost.Comfortember 2020
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Comments: 40
Kudos: 92
Collections: Comfortember 2020





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome to my Comfortember fic!
> 
> This chapter is almost identical to one of my Whumptober fics so if it seems familiar, that's why. The ending is more open-ended so we can dive into the comfort part tomorrow! There'll be a new chap each Monday this month, I can't wait to share them with y'all!
> 
> *Warnings* - Blood | Serious Injury | Kidnapping | (Let me know if anything else needs to be added :D)

The mission wasn’t going well.

Herman Schultz, Shocker, The-Guy-Who-Peter-Webbed-to-a-Bus-and-Sent-to-Prison, whatever you wanted to call him, decided to wreak havoc on a sleepy Queens evening. Tony and Peter went to put a stop to his antics, naively confident he would pose a threat.

It started out okay. The superhero duo came  _ this _ close to taking Shocker down when he’d hit them with a powerful EMP blast. Not only did it knock out all power within a ten-block radius, but it disabled both of their suits, too. Peter, with his powers, fared better out of the pair. He used his momentum to continue his swing and backflip mid-air to land neatly on the ledge of a nearby rooftop.

Tony had no choice but to take a five-story shortcut to the ground.

He landed hard, bouncing and rolling along the road as he rattled around inside the suit, safe in the knowledge he’d be nursing bruises for days. “Fri?” he called as he finally came to a shop, breathless from the fall. Of course, Friday didn’t respond. His brain addled with shock, Tony spent a moment trying to piece together why he now lay in a mysterious puddle in the gutter before fumbling for the manual releases on his suit.

_ Thank God for the manual releases. _

The front of his suit folded open and Tony shot to his feet, leaping over to the pavement while trying to formulate a plan. He turned, panic edging up his spine as Shocker stalked closer.

From nowhere, Peter landed on Shocker’s shoulders - he may be lacking his web-shooters, but he still had super-strength after all. They fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. After a short scuffle in which Tony couldn’t make out whose arms were who’s, Peter jumped to his feet, looking down at the unmoving Shocker at his feet.

Satisfied he wasn’t getting up anytime soon, Peter ran over to Tony, glancing at the open suit as he passed. “Mister Stark, are you alright?”

Tony wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. “I’ve had worse.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think.”

“I’m okay, kid. Really.” Tony walked back to his suit and crouched down at the edge of the pavement, elbows resting on his knees. “I don’t suppose you’re there, huh, Fri?”

After a long pause, Peter answered for her. “I think that might be a ‘no’.”

Tony nodded slowly, a grim expression on his face. “I’m starting to think the same.” He straightened up and turned to Peter, rubbing his hands together. “Is it bad form for a couple of Avengers to call an Uber?”

“Probably,” Peter shrugged, “but I also don’t want to lug that thing all the way back to the compound.” He dropped his voice to a mumble, turning his head away, “‘Cause we both know who’ll be carrying it.”

“What was that?” Tony raised an eyebrow, his head tilted slightly to the side. “I dragged it through the snow in Tennessee once, I’ll have you know.”

“Yes, we know. We all know.” Peter rolled his eyes as he spoke. “You’ve told that story a thousand times.”

Tony stared at Peter for a long moment. “I’m choosing to ignore that comment. Now-” he held out his hand palm up and beckoning with his fingers, “-hand over your phone. I’m going to call… Someone.”

“What about your phone?” Peter asked, stepping back and eying Tony’s hand indignantly.

“Not got pockets in the suit, kid. Just hand it ov-AAA!” A blast from Shocker’s gauntlet illuminated the street in a flash of blue before striking Tony’s side, catapulting him twenty-foot into the air and colliding with the side of a building before crashing back down.

Peter lunged after Shocker, but the latter got there first and caught Peter in the chest with an electric bolt. The air rushed from his chest as he tumbled head over heels backwards. He managed to crawl his way back up to his knees, gasping violently with wide eyes, totally unaware of Shocker sneaking up behind him.

“Kid, look out!” Tony yelled. Or at least, hoped he did. Everything sounded muffled to his ears, and the world swam in front of him. He reached a hand to the back of his head, hissing when it made contact. His fingers came away crimson.

Left to watch helplessly, Peter turned around too late. Shocker’s fist connected with the side of his head and he crumpled to the floor. Out cold. Tony dragged himself to a sitting position, leaning back against the building behind him as Shocker steadily paced towards him with a deranged grin. Looking like a hunter chasing wounded prey. “Oh, I’m going to have fun doing this, Stark.”

Tony spat out a wad of blood and met Shocker’s eyes with evil intent. “Do your worst.” 

Shocker raised his gauntlet.

Tony prayed for a miracle.

But this was the real world. And in the real world, miracles didn’t happen, especially not to Tony Stark.

Electricity coursed through Tony’s body, setting off every nerve ending across every inch of his skin. He screamed out the pain between gritted teeth, unable to open his mouth as the electricity caused all of his muscles to tense. Shocker didn’t let up, in fact, his grin only spread. Tony’s heart pounded, his organs twisting and turning to mush. Blood dripped from his nose and ears, pooling with that already on the ground.

The last thing he remembered before succumbing to the darkness was Shocker’s crazed laugh.

* * *

Rhodey sat by Tony’s beside, still in the same uncomfortable armchair he’d left maybe a handful of times since they brought Tony back to the compound. The chair’s scratchy material almost began to feel normal against Rhodey’s skin.

He’d been monitoring their mission from back at the Avengers Facility, trying to convince Tony to accept backup. He’d refused, of course, insisting that he and the kid had everything under control. When Friday lost connection to both their suits, Rhodey scrambled the team and had them onboard a Quinjet within minutes.

It wasn’t a long flight to Queens, but to Rhodey it felt like years. He’d never be able to forget the sight that greeted them. It started as a dark patch on the horizon, no streetlights, no glow emanating from apartment windows, not even the garish red and blue flicker of a neon sign in a bodega window. He’d sprinted out of the Quinjet almost as soon as the door opened.

Tony’s suit lay abandoned at the side of the road, the front folded open. His stomach turned over as he searched through the darkness. Tony was slumped against the base of a building, head lolled forward and arms limply fallen to the floor. His fingers rested in a pool of blood, blood that stained his undershirt and oozed from a litany of gashes over his face and body. 

Rhodey rushed to his side, checking for his pulse while frantically trying to wake his friend. Though Tony stayed asleep. Steve and Sam ran to join him, quickly ushering over Natasha and loading Tony onto a stretcher before wheeling him aboard the jet. 

A freshly lain pair of tyre marks covered the road, as if someone had made a quick getaway.

That was three days ago.

Bruce popped his head around the door to the medbay, startling Rhodey back to the present, and gesturing for Rhodey to follow him. He stood from the chair, suppressing a groan as his muscles protested from being still for too long - not because he was quickly approaching his mid-fifties, definitely not that - and padded over to Bruce in the doorway.

“Any change?” Bruce asked, his eyes falling sadly on Tony’s prone form. He almost looked peaceful, carefully tucked under a blanket and his head resting on the softest pillows money could buy. But the still healing cuts on his face and splints holding various broken bones in place ruined it. Instead, he looked like a man haunted by a past he wished to forget.

Rhodey shook his head, arms folded across his chest. “But no news is good news, right?” He spoke in a whisper, as if making too much noise would disturb Tony’s rest. “It means he’s not getting any worse.”

“Shocker really did a number on him. Doctor Cho said it’d take time for him to recover.” Bruce squeezed Rhodey’s forearm sympathetically. Rhodey smiled gratefully at the other man, knowing seeing Tony this way hurt Bruce as much as himself. “Besides, he’s finally getting a good night's sleep.”

“Not even Pepper could manage that,” Rhodey chuckled, dropping his chin to his chest. “You know Tony, he’s a fighter. He’ll pull through.”

A grave expression fell across Bruce’s face, his gaze returning to Tony’s bed. “I don’t want to be the one to tell him the news.”

Rhodey sighed and looked to the floor, leaning back against the doorframe. “My turn to ask if you have an update?”

Bruce didn’t reply straight away, but eventually spoke up. “Yeah.”

“I’m guessing it’s bad news.”

“Yeah.”

Rhodey closed his eyes and raked a hand over his face. “How bad?”

Voices echoed around the corner, too far away to make out but most likely Pepper bringing Morgan to visit Tony after school. Bruce glanced towards the sound, “We should talk somewhere else.”

“Yeah,” Rhodey looked down the corridor as they rounded the corner, nodding a greeting to Pepper. He turned to Bruce. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up in a minute.” Bruce nodded and left, giving a wave to Pepper and pulling a silly face at Morgan to make her giggle before heading to the command centre.

Pepper held Morgan on her hip, bouncing playfully as they walked up to Rhodey. With her Dad laid up in a hospital bed, the team as a whole made the silent decision to stay cheerful around Morgan. They obviously hadn’t told her the full story, just that Tony had gotten hurt while working and needed to sleep for a while until he felt better - which wasn’t technically a lie.

“Hey there, Squirt,” Rhodey beamed, reaching out to tickle Morgan before taking her from Pepper. Truth be told, Morgan was such a light in all their lives that Rhodey didn’t need to pretend to be happy. “How was school today?”

“Good!” Morgan squeaked. She proudly held up a piece of paper in front of Rhodey’s face, crinkled from where she’d been holding it so tightly. “I drew this in art class for Daddy. It’s us together at home!”

Rhodey took the paper in his spare hand and examined it. Himself, Pepper, Tony, Peter, and Morgan stood in the forefront - none of whom were wearing their suits - while in the back various other Avengers, along with Ned, May, and MJ. At the top, the title ‘My Heroes’ was written in funky bubble letters which Morgan had coloured in in crayon. “Wow, you could be a professional artist someday!”

Morgan giggled, burying her face in Rhodey’s shoulder.

“Sweetie, did you want to show that to Daddy?” Pepper asked. Morgan nodded, and Rhodey set her down, handing her the paper. They watched as she ran up to Tony’s bed and climbed up there with him, using the armchair as a makeshift stepladder. She laid down and snuggled up against his chest, and began describing the drawing for him. Pepper turned away first, looking to Rhodey. “How’s he doing.”

“Good, all things considered. Vitals have held steady all day. It’s a really good sign, Cho said.”

Pepper nodded slowly, returning to watch Morgan. “He’s always been too stubborn for his own good.”

“You’re not getting an argument from me.”

“Pepper laughed warmly, resting her hand on Rhodey’s arm. “Go, catch up to Bruce. I saw you two talking when we arrived. It looked important.”

“Thanks,” Rhodey smiled, “I’ll be back soon.” He took one last look at Morgan and Tony before heading for the command centre.

They called it the command centre because it was the main base of operations for monitoring both potential threats and active mission. Since the return of the dusted and rogue Avengers, there were more than enough people to have multiple missions running at the same time, so it seemed best to have a central room where everyone and everything could be monitored with ease.

Rhodey paused outside the door, preparing himself for whatever news Bruce had, before walking inside. Seeing the room caused his stomach to turn over, the sense of dread he felt when Friday lost connection to their suits returned tenfold each time he entered. Still, he pushed it down. They had a job to do.

A circular desk sat in the centre of the room, a holographic globe hovered just above it’s middle, and four more desks filled the corners. Bruce leaned on the one closest to the door, arms folded and eyes fixed on May who sat at the central desk. Her head in her hands and eyes closed. Rhodey shot Bruce a questioning look, Bruce only shook his head.

With a sigh, Rhodey walked up to May and gently rested his hand on her shoulder, startling her awake. “Hey,” he said softly, she turned to face him. “Maybe you should think about heading home. Catch up on some sleep, get a decent meal.”

May shook her head furiously, eyes welling with tears. “I can’t- I can’t leave not knowing.”

“I’ll update you the second we find anything. Happy’s just about to head home, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to give you a lift.” When May still didn’t move, Rhodey leaned back against the desk, not taking his eyes from hers. “We’ve got people out there searching, there’s not much we can do from here. Peter would want you to look after yourself.”

At the mention of Peter, May looked up. Slowly, she nodded and rose to her feet. “Yeah,” she whispered, “Yeah, he would. See you.” She drifted from the room with barely a backwards glance at either of the occupants.

Once she’d made it a safe distance down the corridor, Bruce spoke up. “I’m worried about her. She’s hardly left this room in days.”

Rhodey nodded, his expression solemn. “I’ve talked to Happy, asked him to keep an eye out for her if we ever managed to get her back home. You know how close they’ve gotten recently.”

Bruce laughed. “I have. And I didn’t see it coming.”

“Neither did the kid, you should have seen his face,” Rhodey laughed, alleviating some of the heavy atmosphere shrouding the room. “So,” he stood straight and moved around to face the holo-screens, arms folded protectively across his chest, “What’s the latest?”

Bruce moved beside Rhodey, both pairs of eyes briefly glancing at a holo-screen showing the same three-second clip of a white van speeding past a CCTV camera, Shocker just visible in the driver’s seat. Bruce enlarged the globe, zooming in on the collection of white dots across the US, connected together by a single, continuous line. Each dot marked a location they’d traced Shocker’s van to, spread widely and never going in the same direction twice.

“Last we know, Shocker holed up in Denver for a couple of hours. I sent Sam and Steve out as soon as we got a licence plate hit, but he’d vanished by the time they arrived.”

“Vanished?”

“Yeah,” Bruce stepped back, revealing the end of the line just south of Denver on the I-25. “He turned off the Interstate not long after ten this morning, we’ve usually had another hit by now. But this time, nothing.”

“Are you saying we’ve lost him? We’ve lost the kid?”

Bruce nodded, forlorn. He gestured at the hologram, and a circle appeared, centred around Denver and reaching as far as the California border. “They could be anywhere within this area given the time since we lost them.”

“Great!” Rhodey threw his arms in the air, shaking his head. “So we only have to search half of the Western States.”

“And the area gets bigger the longer they’re missing.”

“You’re not helping.”

“Then I guess I shouldn’t mention the possibility they’ve visited an airport.”

“Can’t do,” Rhodey said quickly, “There’s no way airport security would let a known super-criminal leave the country with a minor he’s not related to.”

Bruce shrugged. “I wouldn’t be so sure. He’s been to a lot of cities, who knows what contacts he has.”

Rhodey fell into the chair, rubbing his hands vigorously over his face. “Hey,” Bruce pulled up a second chair and squeezed Rhodey’s shoulder. “Are you alright? Besides the obvious, I mean. You look kinda rough.”

“Thanks, man.”

“I just meant you need to look after yourself, too, as well as everyone else.”

Rhodey smiled warmly, “I know. I’m just a little tired. Not been sleeping well.”

“I can get you something to help with that if you want. Just let me know.”

Rhodey didn’t answer, instead, he looked up to the map. Specifically, the small triangles that represented the on-mission Avengers’ current locations. He nodded generally towards them. “Who’s out there?”

Bruce pointed to the closest triangle to Denver. “That’s Sam and Steve, still running reconnaissance.” Next, he gestured to one somewhere over Missouri, “Wanda and Vision flew out from Edinburgh this morning - they wanted to help the search - and are headed to Oklahoma City. See if they can find anything there. These other two in Mississippi are Nat and Bucky, and Clint and Scott.”

“And they’re…?”

“Looking for one of Shocker’s known contacts. We think he might have stayed with one of Vulture’s old crew, Phineas Mason. ‘The Tinkerer’-”

“That’s got to be one of the worst nicknames out there.”

“Yeah,” Bruce chuckled, “We’re hoping he might give us something on Shocker. Or… Nat can convince him to give us something.”

“Let’s hope he does.” Rhodey got to his feet. “I’m going to grab a coffee for Pepper, you want anything?”

Bruce shook his head, “Thanks, though.”

“No problem,” Rhodey smiled and left the room, hanging around in the doorway. “You’re doing a good job here, man. We’ll find them.” Bruce nodded once, his expression one of determination, and Rhodey started down the corridor.

He thought as he walked towards the kitchen. With everything going on, he maybe hadn’t been giving himself quite the love he deserved, instead worrying about Tony, or helping Bruce coordinate missions, or babysitting Morgan when Pepper’s meetings dragged late into the night. With a yawn, he considered taking up Bruce’s offer. Imagining the good a decent night’s sleep could do him.

“May?” he asked incredulously, striding over to the breakfast bar where she sat. A cup of coffee cradled between her hands. “I thought you were going home.”

May sighed, looking defeated. Permanent worry lines etched into her forehead, her hair in the same messy bun it had been for days and fingernails bitten to the skin. “I couldn’t do it. Sent Happy without me.”

“I get it,” Rhodey sat on the stool beside her. “When Tony went missing in Afghanistan, I didn’t stop for months. I couldn’t. Because it was my duty to find him.” May nodded absentmindedly. “Finding Peter isn’t your duty; we’re all here for him. All looking-”

“That’s just the thing.” May lifted her head, tears in her eyes. “You’re all out there searching for my kid, and I’m sat here like a piece of furniture.”

Rhodey was taken aback, frowning as she spoke. “May-”

“And I know, I know, I can’t go out there and help. Not in the same way, at least. So it’s all I can do to be here when you get him back.” She dropped her head again, staring at her coffee like it would give her the answer. “That’s all I have.”

“Take my room,” Rhodey offered, “I’ve been sleeping in the medbay, so my bed’s going spare. Plus, no one will disturb you there.

“I couldn’t-”

“I insist.”

After a brief pause, May leant into Rhodey’s side and hugged him. “Thank you.” She got to her feet, still holding the coffee.

“There are spare clothes in the cupboard at the end of the hall. I’m sure you can find some pyjamas in there. Make yourself at home. And I don’t want to see you up before seven tomorrow morning.”

May laughed gently. “Yes, Colonel.” With a mock salute, she left the room. Rhodey stood and grabbed two cups of coffee, plus a juice box from the fridge, and started back to the medbay.

* * *

Tony woke early the next morning, greeted by a relieved Rhodey, tearful Pepper, and Morgan diving into the bed next to him and snuggling up to his chest. The pair soon had to leave for school and work, leaving just Rhodey and Tony alone.

Tony looked up at Rhodey, a dopey grin on his face. “What’s up, Sourpatch? You look like someone sucker-punched you.”

“Look, I’m not going to sugar-coat this-”

“Oh?” Tony’s smile turned to a frown, his lips turned downwards and brow furrowed.

“Shocker, he took Pete. We’ve been tracking him for days, but lost the trail yesterday morning.”

Tony stared at the end of his bed, every muscle in his body tensed and a dangerous expression on his face. Without warning, he sat forward and flung back the duvet, intent of swinging his legs over the edge and standing. “Woah,” Rhodey caught him, stopping his progress. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Finding Pete. What does it look like?”

“So what, you’re just going to search the entire country?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“No, Tones. You’re nowhere near ready to go out in the field.”

“I don’t care about that,” Tony growled. “That bastard took my kid. And I’m going to find him.” He made another attempt to dodge Rhodey and stand, but in his weakened state, it proved impossible.

Gently, Rhodey pushed Tony’s shoulder back down. “You’re staying in this bed until Cho clears you. Bruce has the whole rest of the team out there, even Wanda and Vision came in. There’s nothing you can add right now. It sucks, but you’ll have to wait.”

Tony laid back. “Sometimes I hate having a voice of reason who’s quite so reasonable.”

“Sometimes I hate having a friend who refuses backup and ends up comatose for days.”

“Hey,” Tony threw his arms out, “You can’t be mean to me, I’m sick! Look,” he held up his hand with an IV and heartbeat monitor attached, “I’m hooked up to all sorts of machines in a hospital bed! Being mean to sick people is a no-no.”

Rhodey threw his head back, laughing his most genuine laugh in days.

* * *

Bruce sprinted into the medbay, skidding to a stop in the doorway and panting hard. A hint of a smile on his face. Rhodey jumped to his feet, Tony sat up straighter, wincing slightly at the pain movement caused.

“Mason talked.”

Tony’s eyebrows shot up, and he cast a confused glance Rhodey’s way. “I thought you said they did find him and came home days ago?”

“Clint and Scott came home,” Bruce corrected, “what with Cassie and the Barton’s. Nat and Bucky stayed out there. Just commed in to say Mason gave them a potential location on Shocker, some shack he mentioned while running with Vulture. They’re headed there now.”

Tony pushed back his bedsheet back and wobbled to his feet, having hardly stood in the week since the attack.

“Woah!” Rhodey rushed around the bed to steady Tony, only for the man to push him away.

“I’m not a child, Rhodey.”

“Really? You sound a bit like one.”

“Get in your suit, let’s go.” Tony started towards the door.

Bruce blocked his path and looked worriedly to Rhodey over Tony’s shoulder. “Uh, I’m not sure-”

“You aren’t? Well, I am. The suits are quicker than a Quinjet, and Rhodey’s coming because of the insane buddy system you’ve got going.”

“Hey! That buddy system saved your life-”

“It also got my kid captured by a homicidal maniac,” Tony countered, “So move out of my way.”

Bruce’s eyes found Rhodey again, the other man nodded. “Doctor Cho was going to clear him this afternoon anyway. And our suits  _ are  _ quicker. If Mason warned Shocker, he could already be running again.”

“Fine,” Bruce stepped aside and let Tony pass, but caught Rhodey’s arm before he could leave. “I’ll send Friday the location. Keep an eye on him.”

“I know,” Rhodey nodded sincerely before chasing after Tony.

Within a few minutes, they were in the air and hurtling towards south-west Colorado. Most of the flight passed in silence, Tony busy worrying about Peter, and Rhodey busy worrying about Tony.

Their target turned out to be a half-collapsed, wooden shack surrounded by trees with a singular dusty, dirt road winding away for miles. Shocker’s van lazily parked up by the house. Nothing else within sight. The shack itself looked like a gentle breeze would knock it over, the wooden panels so rotten in places that you could see inside and the door swinging on its hinges.

Tony landed first, Rhodey a second behind him, and marched forward, kicking the door with enough force to level it to the ground. “Schultz!” He bellowed, lighting the room inside with the glow from his palm repulsor, “You’d best hand over my kid else you won’t live to regret it.” He scanned the room, quickly realising it to be empty, and motioned for Rhodey to head for the door to his left while he strode further inside.

Dust filled the air, and covered the floor for that matter, though clearly it had been recently disturbed. A ratty, moth-eaten sofa sat in the centre of the room with a threadbare rug underneath it. Apart from that, the room was empty.

“It’s clear!” Rhodey called from the side room, reappearing through the door.

Tony poked his head through a doorframe, though the door itself was lacking. The metal frame of a bed was shoved up against one wall, a stained duvet balled up atop it. No Shocker. No Peter. “Clear.”

“Tones, I think you should see this.”

Tony tapped his chest, his nano-suit dematerialising as he jogged back to Rhodey. The room he’d cleared turned out to be a bathroom, a grubby sink, toilet, and bath-shower combo taking up practically all of the space. Rhodey stood by the sink, looking down at the grime-covered floor.

“What is it?” Tony asked, moving closer. “Oh…” In the dirt, someone had drawn two letters with a slender finger.  _ PP. _

“They were here, and they can’t be long gone,” Rhodey said.

“Then let’s find them.” Tony started back towards the front door and shot into the air, following the dirt path away from the shack with Rhodey close on his heel.

“They didn’t take the van,” Rhodey pointed out. “Could’ve walked, could’ve had a backup car here already.”

“Friday, are any other vehicles registered to Herman Schultz.”

“Only the van, Boss.”

“Shit. CCTV?”

“Not within a ten-mile radius.”

“That’s just great. Rhodey, split up, cover as much ground as possible. They could be anywhere.” The pair peeled apart, eyes scanning the ground for any sign of life.

Despite an increasingly desperate search lasting well into the next morning, Rhodey would reluctantly drag Tony home empty-handed.


	2. The Missing Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the one year anniversary of Peter’s kidnapping, they finally find where Shocker’s been hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're getting properly into the comfort this time, y'all! 
> 
> The prompts all smushed together today are: Rescue | First Day/Night | Nightmare | Kisses | Hugs | Protectiveness
> 
> Hope you enjoy :D

Tony wandered aimlessly around the new Avengers Facility; he’d been doing that a lot more than usual recently. With Peter gone, everything was different. Not like last time when everyone was gone - because even though Thanos only dusted half of the population, no one from the remaining half was whole anymore, no one got away without losing a part of their soul. No, this time only Peter was missing, and the world quite simply didn’t give a shit.

This ray of light in Tony’s life, the one that had been there when everything else was falling apart, had been stripped away. Snuffed out. And now everything was just that much darker. Sometimes, he’d pass the lab and expect to catch Peter tinkering inside, or walk through Queens and wait for him to swing overhead, but of course Peter was never there. He’d only just been able to look May in the eye again.

His legs carried him to the kitchen. Bruce sat at a stool by the breakfast bar, hunched over a mug of coffee cupped in his hands and staring into the contents as if it could provide him with the answers a year of searching couldn’t. Tony’s eyes flickered to the oven clock.  _ 11:52. _

“Eight minutes.”

Bruce nodded slowly without looking up. He took it harder than most, not finding Peter, though he had been the one running point on the search. Especially with Tony out of action in the beginning.

“Anniversaries suck, huh?”

“That they do.” Bruce took a long sip of his coffee, trying to mask his face of disgust at the long-turned-cold liquid. “We should have found him by now. I let Shocker slip through my fingers so many times-”

“Hey-” Tony held his hands up, stopping Bruce in his tracks. “You didn’t  _ let  _ that bastard do anything. He knows how to avoid detection, has contacts everywhere. We did all that we could.”

“You sound like you’re giving up.”

Tony shook his head, lips pressed into a thin line. “I’m never giving up on my kid. Never been one to move on,” he gestured at his prosthetic arm and chuckled. “Pete’s strong, and I hope with every inch of my being that he’s alive somewhere. I have to.”

Bruce laughed gently, slowly turning to look up at Tony. “When did you become the sanest of us?”

Tony’s eyes wound their way to the clock again.  _ 11:56 _ . He fell onto the stool next to Bruce. “I guess Pepper’s wearing off on me. Finally.” Tony scratched absentmindedly at a mark on the countertop. “She’d be happy to know that.”

“What do you mean?” Bruce asked, his brow furrowed.

“She-” Tony sighed, keeping his vision low. “I know she’s proud of what I do, I know that. But she’s tired, Bruce. The constant fear of whether I’m coming home or not… She waited a month for me to return from Titan, she saw what the stones did to me. It’s been fifteen years, and I still can’t stop. Not until everyone’s safe.”

“Last time you talked like this, we created a murderbot,” Bruce said with a slight grin, pulling a little lightness into the conversation. “Pepper’s strong too, you know. She’s stuck with you all these years, and I don’t think she’s leaving anytime soon.”

“It’s not fair on her. Not fair on Morgan or Pe-” Tony cut himself off abruptly. Suddenly dragged back to the reality of Peter’s disappearance. Bruce clapped a hand on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. He checked the clock again.  _ 11:59 _

_ … _

_ 00:00 _

Tony stood and walked to the cabinet. He grabbed a cup and filled it with coffee from the pot, turning towards Bruce and raising it up. “To Peter, God, I wish I could see you again.”

“To Peter.” Bruce raised his too, his expression sombre. “To hope.”

They both took a sip.

Voices echoed down the hallway as a pair of footsteps ran closer. Tony’s eyebrows knitted together, he set his mug down and peered around the corner.

May and Rhodey careened into view, both panting. Rhodey spoke first, his voice full of disbelief. “We found him! Tones, we found him.”

Tony’s mouth fell open, his brain working overtime to try and process the information. “Peter?”

“Shocker-” Tony couldn’t pretend he didn’t feel a stab of pain as Rhodey spoke. “-But there’s a chance. Tony,  _ there’s a chance. _ ” Rhodey waited for Tony to move, to say something, but he couldn’t seem to make his body follow his commands.

“Tony,” May said, “This is our first lead in months.”

“We have to act now,” Rhodey added.

“Right,” Tony shook his head and took a deep breath. “How? Where is he?”

“Scott took Cassie on a camping trip, pure chance that he ran into Shocker while looking for firewood. He followed him back to some sort of house. Shocker‘s none the wiser.”

Tony nodded. Untamed fury rising with each word Rhodey spoke. This was the guy who took his kid, the guy who tried to take Tony from his family. And he was going to pay.

“Bruce, assemble the team,” Tony ordered. Bruce nodded and jogged from the room. “Rhodey, you and me are going ahead, we’ll meet Scott. Assess. Wait for the other’s if we have to, but we’re getting this bastard today.”

The trio split, May heading towards the command centre while Tony and Rhodey ran to the armoury. It took less than two minutes to get into the air.

* * *

Scott had the foresight to bring his suit along for the camping trip - a symptom of the superhero life, a certain level of paranoia - which made it easy for Friday to track his location. Tony and Rhodey flew over Point Reyes, quickly closing in on Scott. “Fri, fill Ross in on the situation.”

_ “Wait, Ross?” _ Scott asked over their comms.  _ “Why are you inviting the guy who threw half of us in jail?” _

“Because he’s the only guy with authority to lock Shocker away for good. Today.”

_ “Right, yeah. That makes sense. Good idea.” _

Friday flashed a message across their heads-up displays saying they’ve reached the right spot. “Lang?” Rhodey asked, looking down through the cloud to the thick layer of trees below. They had to stay high to limit the chance of Shocker seeing them coming, and they didn’t have the benefit of retro-reflective panels like the Quinjets somewhere behind them. “You down there?”

_ “Uh,” _ the sound of footsteps came over the comms, leaves and twigs crunching underfoot.  _ “Yeah, I can see you. Straight down.” _

Tony and Rhodey dropped to the floor as quietly as possible, hoping Shocker didn’t have some kind of warning system set up. Scott ran over, already wearing his suit. “Hey guys.”

“Hey,” Rhodey said back.

Tony retracted his helmet. “What’s the deal?”

“Well,” Scott started at a jog, gesturing for them to follow him. “I followed Shocker back to this farmhouse looking place in the forest, no idea how he got it-”

“I’m not sure I want to know,” Rhodey said, sharing a grim glance with Tony as they hurried after Scott.

“-Anyway. I saw him go inside and… Well it looks like he just went to bed.” They ran to the top of a small hill and stopped, revealing the rather extravagant looking house a short distance below.

Tony pushed past, intent on enacting his revenge, but Rhodey smacked a hand against his chest. “Wait. We can’t just go storming in there. He gets wind we’re here, and he’s gone. You know that.”

Tony looked away, biting back a retort. “You’re right, what’s the play?”

Rhodey turned to Scott. “You go in, scope the place for Shocker. Tell us the second you have eyes on, and we’ll enter. Got it?” Scott nodded, determined. Everyone knew the stakes, whether they were close to Peter or not. “Good luck.” Rhodey clapped his shoulder, and Scott darted towards the house. They watched as he shrunk down, disappearing from sight. 

Tony couldn’t stay still, he had too much energy to work off. He paced up and down, Rhodey tracking his every move with his eyes.

“Take a breath, Tones.”

“Rhodey, if Peter’s not in there, if he’s… I swear to God I’m gonna kill him.”

_ “Guys, I’m entering now.” _ Scott’s whisper was breathy over the comms.

“What good is that going to do?”

Tony balled his hands to stop them from shaking. When he spoke, his voice had a deadly edge. “I’ll feel a hell of a lot better, for one.”

“And what if Peter’s somewhere else? We wouldn’t know where to look with Shocker dead.”

Tony screwed his face up, staying silent.

_ “Ground floor’s clear, moving upstairs. This place is gross by the way, cobwebs everywhere. It’s like he’s never heard of a duster… or a hoover.” _

For a year, Tony had had this flame of hope inside his chest. As the winds of time started to blow stronger, he held on to it with both hands, protecting it from fizzling out. When Rhodey ran into the kitchen hours earlier, the flame grew into a raging fire. Now, the longer he waited, the more his thoughts ran away with themselves, that growth felt more like a final surge of energy before its inevitable death.

_ “There’s so many bedrooms! This guy’s gotta be rich to afford a place like this. Unless he just broke in here.” _

Whatever happened next, Tony was going to know. He was going to know once and for all whether Peter was alive or dead. A year of searching, planning, grieving, wishing, all about to come to an end.

“I- I can’t,” Tony stammered, stopping his pacing abruptly.

Rhodey quickly closed the distance between them, one gloved hand on Tony’s shoulder and looking into his eyes. “You’ve got this, man. I’m right here with you. We can do this together.”

_ “You know, I’m starting to think he murdered the people that live here. Unless he likes to keep photos of other families around.” _

Rhodey. He’d been Tony’s rock since college, before Pepper, even. Thirty years of friendship tested through thick and thin. Through paralysis and near-death. Yet they remained together, steady. Always there. Always having each other’s back.

Tony nodded once, steeling himself for the end. “We can do this together.”

_ “Guys…” _

“Jesus, Lang!” Rhodey snapped, maybe a little more aggressive than he’d meant. “You’re supposed to be stealthy, would you shut up?”

_ “No, guys.” _ The comms barely picked up Scott’s voice.  _ “He’s here. He’s actually asleep. We have him.” _

Tony and Rhodey shared a look, a cocktail of emotions crossing both pairs of eyes.  _ Scott didn’t find Peter… _

_ “Guys?” _

Rhodey lifted his hand to his ear, “Keep an eye on Shocker, we’re coming in.” He turned to face Tony, “You good?”

Tony jerked his chin up, looking down towards the house. He materialised his helmet, anger bubbling up again and replacing his fear. “I’m good.” At a jog, they started towards the house, soon switching to flying close to the ground to cut down on time.

The house sat at the edge of a small clearing, a gravel road leading from the porch and winding off into the forest. The brown brick walls and slate roof blended into the dark of the night, only illuminated by the gentle glow of a porch light. They passed a couple of garages on their way to the front door.

“Alright, Lang. We’re coming in now.”

_ “The stairs are in the back,” _ Scott whispered.

Tony and Rhodey moved through the house as quietly as possible, though their suits were undoubtedly louder than Scott’s. It was clear Shocker didn’t own the home, photos of other people lined the walls, and children’s drawings were stuck to the fridge with magnets. Tony swallowed down bile at the thought of Shocker murdering a family just to hide from him. He already had too many souls on his conscience, any more and he might break.

The ground floor was open plan. Great wooden beams leading up to the ceiling acted as a kind of partition between the kitchen and sprawling living area. Beer cans littered the floor around the sofa and coffee table, and clearly the only thing in regular use was the TV.

Rhodey moved to the back of the house, while Tony strayed. His eyes fixed on something through the darkness. A door, slightly ajar. He lifted his repulsor, the light revealing a set of stairs heading down.

_ Scott hadn’t mentioned a basement… _

Rhodey appeared next to him, both staring into the darkness. “Go,” he said, “I’ll head up and help Lang.”

Tony nodded and crept towards the stairs. The door creaked as Tony pushed it open. He squeezed through the smallest gap he could manage and headed down. His breath caught in his throat. The room opened out, though he couldn’t see the far walls through the darkness.

Blindly running a hand along the wall to his right, Tony found what must be a light switch. He paused before flicking it, frozen in fear. In hope. Pushing it down, Tony turned on the light.

A single bulb attempted to light the room, its glow just managing to illuminate all four walls. Dusty crates and cobweb-covered barrels covered most of the floor, stacked almost to the ceiling in some places.

Someone whimpered.

Silently, Tony moved through the maze of crates. His heart hammered so hard that he heard blood rush in his ears and his vision tunnelled. Focused only on finding whoever was inside. He peeked inside an open crate, it was stuffed full of old belongings, just typical things a family might keep. Mementoes and nicknacks from their lives.

He rounded a corner, stomach dropping to the floor.

Peter screamed when he saw Tony, fighting against the restraints locking his arms around a pipe behind his back. He kicked his legs out frantically, wailing as Tony came closer. “No! Get away from me!”

Tony heard a commotion from upstairs but retracted his suit anyway. He crouched and shuffled as close to Peter as he could get without being in kicking range. The kid’s clothes hung off him, torn and stained. “Pete, it’s me.”

“Get away!” Peter’s voice was too high, he sounded terrified. “I don’t want you here, get away!”

Tony rocked back on his heels. Peter’s eyes were wide and pupils were blown as tears cascaded down his face. “Hey, kid. You’re safe now,” Tony forced his voice calm, trying to show Peter he wasn’t a threat. “I’m here, okay? It’s me, it’s Tony.”

Peter froze, his eyes darting between Tony’s. “Mister Stark?”

“Yeah,” Tony’s eyes stung. “That’s right.” Slowly, he shuffled closer. Peter didn’t move a muscle as Tony worked his way to the cuffs at his wrists and used his suit to cut through them. “You’re free, kid. I’m taking you home.”

Peter sprung forward, shaking as he locked his arms around Tony and sobbed freely into his chest. Tony clung back, one hand tangled in his hair and whispering soothingly in his ear. “We’re going home.”

* * *

Rhodey flew them back to the Avengers Facility, taking one of the Quinjets the rest of the team had arrived in while they stayed behind and waited for Ross.

In the light, Tony could hardly look at Peter without feeling sick. The kid’s usually beaming face was gaunt, his cheeks so hollow that his skin sagged. His muscles had wasted virtually to nothing, he’d barely been able to walk out of the basement even with Tony’s help, and his clothes looked at least three sizes too big.

But he was alive, Tony could work with that. He was a mechanic, fixing things was his job.

Peter only said a handful of words on the journey, brushing most of Tony’s questions with a hum - if he acknowledged them at all. He couldn’t seem to bring himself to look at either man for more than a couple of seconds at the most, spending the majority of the ride fidgeting his hands in his lap and staring blankly at the wall opposite.

Touching down at the Facility startled Peter back to reality, he jumped so violently he all but left the seat. Eyes frantically searching for Tony’s and meeting for but a second before looking away again.

Tony stood, making sure not to move too quickly. “Come on, kid. There’s someone outside who can’t wait to see you.” He walked across the jet and hit the button to open the door, watching Peter out of the corner of his eye.

Peter pushed himself up, leaning against the wall as he waited for the door to open fully. Once it had, he gave another brief glance to Tony, who nodded for him to go down, before stumbling his way to the grass. His shoes were more hole than fabric, and Peter faltered as the long grass brushed his feet. The faintest of smiles pulled at the corners of his lips.

His smile grew as someone ran full speed out of the Facility doors. Peter’s legs subconsciously carried him towards them. “May?” He asked, his voice barely a whisper. Then a little louder, now running full pelt - if unsteadily - towards her. “May!”

They collided in a tangle of limbs. Peter jumped up and wrapped his legs around her waist like a little kid and the pair span, laughing and crying together. Eventually, May set Peter down but didn’t let go. She kissed his too-long hair, his forehead, his cheek, anything she could reach without putting a gap between them.

Peter’s legs buckled beneath him and they fell to the floor. Wide-eyed, Peter let one of his hands rub over the grass, feeling the dirt underneath and squeezing handfuls of it as though it were the most magical thing in existence.

Tony wiped away tears of his own as he and Rhodey approached.

“I missed you so much,” Peter wailed, locking his arms around May once again with his face buried in her shoulder.

“Me too,” May said back, tangling a hand through his hair. “I love you so, so much.”

“Love you, too.”

“I hate to break this up,” Tony said, “I really do. But we need to get you checked over, Pete.”

Peter allowed Tony to help him to his feet, Rhodey offering his hand to May, and they headed into the Facility. Tony’s heart warmed as Peter leaned his head on his shoulder as they walked, the traces of his smile still present. God, how he missed that smile.

* * *

“We found high amounts of Benzodiazepine in his blood, as well as hallucinogens.” Doctor Cho stood just outside the medbay door relaying the information to Tony and May. “He’s malnourished which, given his increased metabolism, we need to keep a close eye on and make sure he doesn’t get worse.”

Tony collapsed into the chair behind him, the weight of Peter’s reality for the last year crashing down on top of him.

“I’ve given him something to counteract the hallucinogens as well as an IV with nutrients. He’s been asking for both of you.”

“Thank you,” May smiled as Doctor Cho went back inside. She turned to Tony, “Come on, let’s go in.”

Tony didn’t move. He couldn’t get Cho’s words from his head, they repeated over and over.  _ Hallucinogens. _ What had Shocker done?

“Tony.” May raised her voice, not quite shouting but not far off. “He needs us, you heard what Doctor Cho said. We need to be there for Peter, okay?”

She was right, Peter had been through hell and come out the other side. And it was up to them to help him recover, no matter how hard it hurt. Tony stood, “You’re right, sorry-” he nodded towards the medbay door “-After you.”

May gave his forearm a reassuring squeeze before they went inside. Peter looked up immediately, that smile returning as if seeing them both for the first time again. Then again, maybe he was what with Shockers hallucinogens. Maybe that’s why he’d screamed in the basement.

“Hey, honey.” May hurried over and kissed Peter’s forehead. Peter caught her hand in his as she sat in an armchair, laughing as she squeezed back.

Peter looked across the room to Tony and beckoned him over. Tony stood at the foot of his bed, smiling. “Hey, Mister Stark.”

“Hi, kid. It’s good to have you back.”

“It doesn’t feel real.” Peter seemed to shrink in on himself again. “Like I’m going to wake up any minute and be back there again.”

“You’re not, honey,” May assured him, tangling her free hand in his hair. “You’re staying right here with us.”

A stab of pain pierced Tony’s heart as Peter offered a small, disbelieving smile. “Hey, you seem to be feeling better,” he said, changing the subject.

“I do. A little, at least.”

“That might have something to do with the drugs Cho’s got you on,” Tony chuckled. Peter and May joined in. Tony thought that maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to put the whole ordeal behind them.

* * *

“I just heard from Bruce,” Rhodey said, walking into the kitchen where Tony was fixing up a pot of coffee. He’d left May and Peter to have some time alone together. “They’re on their way back. Ross came and took Shocker away, no questions, no fuss.”

“And he’s gone, right? He’s not getting out?”

“‘Locked in the deepest pits of The Raft’ according to Ross.” Rhodey crossed the room and leaned back against the counter, arms folded as he tried to catch a look at Tony’s face. “He’s not getting out, Tones. It’s over.”

Tony let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and gripped the handle of the coffee put to stop his hands from shaking anymore than they already were. “But it’s not over, is it? There’s a kid down the hall who can barely even look at me.”

Rhodey’s brow creased. “I thought he was doing okay?”

“It’s just the medication,” Tony spat. “Once it’s worn off we’ll see… You heard him screaming, Rhodey, and I’m sure Cho told you about the hallucinogens.”

“You think he saw us?”

Tony nodded jerkily. “And who knows exactly what he saw us do. Why else would he have reacted like that.”

Rhodey peeled Tony’s hands away from the coffee pot pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Tony locked his arms around his friend and rested his forehead on his shoulder, breathing out shakily.

“You’ve got to be there for Peter, I know,” Rhodey said quietly, “But I’m here for you, okay?”

Tony nodded, then barked a laugh. “Softie.”

“Hey, I don’t have to be here, you know,” Rhodey laughed.

“No, no,” Tony held tighter. “Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

* * *

Tony woke up to screaming. Screaming coming from Peter’s room. He shot out of bed faster than he ever had before and sprinted down the hall. Thankfully, Peter’s room wasn’t far from his own.

He burst in, only to find Peter still in bed. He thrashed about, fighting against his duvet with his eyes tightly squeezed shut. Tony ran to his bedside, avoiding flailing limbs as he leaned over and gently shook Peter’s shoulders. “Hey! Hey, kid, wake up.” 

Peter’s eyes flew open and he scrambled to free himself from Tony’s grip, shuffling away and curling himself up into a ball, legs hugged to his chest. He gasped for breath as sweat poured off his forehead.

“Sorry,” Tony said, holding his hands up and backing a respectable distance away. “It was just a dream, Pete. You’re safe here.”

May flew into the room, her eyes flicking from Peter to Tony, and back again. She jogged forward and climbed up onto the bed beside Peter, wrapping her arms protectively around him and rubbing circles on his back. Peter leaned into her, tears falling freely down his face while May whispered affirmations and reassurances.

Silently, Tony left the room. He waited outside for maybe ten minutes until May walked out, shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible.

“Is he-?”

“He’s sleeping again.” Tears stung May’s eyes, she wiped them away quickly.

“How did you know what to do?”

“He had nightmares after his parents died, and after Ben. That’s always how I’ve tried to help.”

Tony nodded slowly, staring at the closed door for a long moment. “Is he gonna-?”

“Have another? Probably.” May’s eyes fell to the floor at their feet. Tony’s did too.

“I’ll get a duvet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed it would be awesome if you could drop a kudos, maybe even a comment <3 My tumblr is thedumbestavenger if you wanted to follow for writing updates and general marvel related stuff :D


	3. Why Can't it be How it Always Was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony may have rescued Peter from the clutches of Shocker, but it’s a long and winding road to recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time of the week again, y'all! Today's prompts all smushed up are: Anxiety | PTSD | Lashing Out | Afraid to Sleep | Panic Attacks | Crying | Blanket Fort | Confession

Tony and May didn’t get much sleep that night. The pair took shifts dozing off outside Peter’s door while the other listened out for signs of another nightmare. Once, Tony tried to comfort Peter the same May had, but Peter only pushed him away in a fit of tears. That didn’t stop him from returning to their makeshift camp in the hallway.

It couldn’t have been long after five - Steve had only just left for his morning run - when Peter’s door swung open. The bedraggled, exhausted kid froze in the doorway.

May and Tony scrambled to their feet as quickly as possible, struggling to stay upright as the duvet tangled around their legs. “Oh, hey kid,” Tony said as nonchalantly as possible, his voice raspy from lack of sleep. “What can we do for you?”

The whole time he spoke, Peter kept his gaze purposefully averted from Tony. His face flushed red, and he clenched his jaw. Finally, he looked up at May. “You’ve been here all night?”

May stepped forward, attempted to, at least, and reached out to take Peter’s hand. He ripped it from her grip. She stared back, hurt written across her face. “We just wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

Peter jutted his chin out. “I’m fine.” He slunk back into the darkness of his room and slammed the door shut.

For a moment, all Tony could do was gawk at the space Peter had been, mouth open, frozen to the spot. It wasn’t like Peter to get angry, especially not with May. He adored that woman with all his heart.

May moved first, she crouched down and balled up the duvet. Surreptitiously wiping away tears with the back of her hand when she thought Tony couldn’t see. “I’m, um, just going to put this away,” she mumbled, turning before Tony even had the chance to reply.

“I’ll make a pot,” he called after her. Tony watched for a few seconds, hoping for May to turn around, but she kept walking. Eventually, he made his way to the kitchen and brewed up a pot of coffee, pouring himself a generous mugful. Then adding just a little more for good luck.

For once, he hated being right. The moment Peter’s medication from Doctor Cho wore off, he returned to the drawn-in kid he’d been when Tony found time in that basement, barely able to look at without turning two shades paler. And now this on top?  _ God _ , what had Shocker done to the poor kid.

May wandered into the kitchen, Tony quickly filled another cup of coffee and sat beside her at the breakfast bar. May took a grateful few sips before setting the mug down and clasping it in her hands.

“I’m sure he was just tired,” Tony said, trying to ease the apparent worry in May’s face.

“That’s just not like him,” she sighed, staring into the coffee. “It… I don’t know. It feels like we’re losing him again, like I have his hand in mine, but I can’t hold on tight enough to pull him up.”

“We’re in this together, okay?” Tony squeezed May’s hand. “Everyone in this building - and countless out of it - want to help Peter. You’re not alone in this. I’m not going to let you do this alone.”

May squeezed back, a small smile pulling her mouth upwards. “Thank you, Tony.” She sat a little straighter, a weight lifted from her chest. “I think, maybe, Peter just needs time. And space. Just until he gets used to life again.”

Tony nodded, “It took me long enough to readjust after Afghanistan, and that was only a fraction of the time Peter endured.” He took a mouthful of coffee, hoping its magic would work soon. “I’m going to make him some breakfast-”

“Space, remember?”

“I know, I know.” Tony held his hands up in surrender. “But you heard Cho, we need to get his nutrition up.”

May relented at that, “Okay. Just be gentle.”

“Always am,” Tony muttered. The bar stool scraped against the tile floor as he stood and walked to the cabinet. He grabbed a bowl and Peter’s favourite cereal, fixing up some breakfast before returning to Peter’s room.

Tony lightly wrapped his fingers against the door, not wanting to startle the already on edge kid, and waited as shuffling sounded from inside. “It’s just me, kiddo. Thought you might want some breakfast.”

The door cracked open, and a tentative hand appeared through the gap. Tony could hardly make out Peter from the darkness within his room. He put the bowl in Peter’s hand.

“Thank you,” he murmured. Peter tried to close the door, but Tony wedged his foot in the crack.

“Look, we’re sorry about earlier. Me and May just want what’s best for you. So, if you wanted to talk about anything, we’re here.”

Peter didn’t reply, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor.

Tony rubbed his hands together. “Alright,” he moved his foot back, “you enjoy that-”

The door slammed in his face. And Tony was stuck on the outside yet again.

* * *

It carried on well into the next afternoon. Peter left his room a grand total of once, though darted back the second he saw Natasha in the lounge. Tony and May tried to coax him out with the promise of board games or movie nights, but the kid just stayed locked away. Separated from the world.

It was the next afternoon when Peter ventured out once more, shuffling to the kitchen with his Midtown hoodie’s sleeves pulled down over his hands and face hidden away in the hood. When Tony and Rhodey walked in - midway through debating if using Rhodey’s Colonel status to access files for the team was illegal - every muscle in Peter’s body tensed so violently that Tony half expected the glass in his hand to shatter.

“I was just-” Peter squeaked. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and ran from the kitchen.

“Hold tight, Platypus,” Tony said, jogging after him. “Hey, Pete!”

Peter pretended not to hear him, scampering away as fast as he could.

“Wait up, I know you hear me.”

He paused, hand on his bedroom door handle. Trembling ever so slightly.

Tony walked closer, wanting nothing more than to wrap Peter in the warmest hug, but held back. “Nice to see you out.” The joke didn’t land, Tony cleared his throat. “How you feeling, kid?”

“Good,” Peter mumbled.

“Look at me,” Tony sighed, “Please.”

Reluctantly, Peter took his hand from the door and turned to face Tony. Looking up at him through his eyelashes.

“I know it’s hard, kiddo, getting reacquainted with the world.” Tony tapped his chest. "I struggled after Afghanistan. But hiding away isn’t going to help. You need to get out, talk to people, experience things again-”

Peter snapped. His eyes burning with fiery rage, and hands balled into fists at his side. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I’m not  _ you _ ?” He jabbed a finger in Tony’s chest, face flushed. “That maybe we went through different things? And you know  _ nothing  _ about  _ anything _ ?”

Tony stepped back, working to maintain his composure. “You’re right,” he said calmly.” I don’t know anything, because you won’t talk to me.”

“I don’t want to! Okay?” Peter screwed his face up. “Can you get that into your head? I don’t want your help. Just leave me alone”” He turned back to his door, fumbling to get the handle to work.

Tony caught hold of his arms, stopping him. “You might not want help, kid, but you’re getting it anyway. If you just  _ talked- _ ”

“I can’t!” Peter bellowed, pulling his arm from Tony’s grip. “I can’t look at you. I just- I can’t.”

“Pete-”

“Leave me alone!” Peter barged into his room, slamming the door behind him. 

No sooner than Peter had left did Rhodey appear behind Tony, gently pulling him away before he could make the situation worse. Once they’d reached the lounge, Rhodey fell onto the sofa, “That could have gone better.”

“What an astute observation,” Tony deadpanned, sitting beside him. He raked a hand over his face. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“I think you should talk to Sam. Nightmares, irritability, anxiety, all can be symptoms of PTSD. I’ve seen plenty of guys the same.”

Tony sat forward, brow creased. “You really think?”

“He did go through a pretty traumatising time,” Rhodey shrugged, “I think it’s worth a conversation, at least.”

After a moment’s thought, Tony nodded. “You’re right, as usual.”

“Oh, so you agree it’s grossly wrong for me to hack into government files for your peace of mind?”

“You’re not  _ hacking  _ into anything,” Tony corrected. “You’re just using your position-”

“To commit a felony.” Rhodey stood, shaking his head but unable to hide a smile as he walked away. “Shocker’s gone for good, Tones. It’s over.”

* * *

Tony didn’t hear from Peter again that day. Not until the early hours of the next morning when he finally dragged himself to bed and passed the kid’s bedroom door. Muffled sobs drifted from inside. Tony paused, debating for a moment whether or not he should give Peter the space everyone kept saying he needed. But his kid was crying in the middle of the night, how could he ignore that?

He knocked gently on the door before pushing it open. Peter didn’t respond, his face buried in his pillow and shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. Tony hurried over and flicked on the bedside table lamp before perching on the edge of Peter’s bed.

“It’s okay, kid,” he whispered, rubbing circles on Peter’s back, “Let it out.” Peter sniffled and sat up, his eyes red and puffy. Tony held his arms out, and Peter lunged into his embrace. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“I don’t want to sleep, Mister Stark,” Peter cried into Tony’s chest.

“At the risk of getting my head bitten off again, do you want to talk about it?”

Peter choked a laugh. “Ev-Everytime I close my eyes I just- I just see-”

“The hallucinations?”

Peter nodded, gulping for air. “I-I don’t want-t to see them a-again, and… I can’t- Mister Stark, I can’t breathe.”

Tony fought down a wave of panic, his eyes stinging. “Yes, you can, Pete.”

“M-My heart...”

“You’re okay,” Tony soothed. “I think you’re having a panic attack. Fri?”

_ “I believe you’re right, boss.” _

“See,” Tony kept rubbing Peter’s back. “You’re fine, it’s gonna pass. I know it is. Just breathe.”

After a painstakingly long few minutes of affirmations and soft whisperings, Peter’s sobs subsided, and his breaths started to smooth out. He sat up and shuffled away, leaving Tony instantly feeling cold.

“Sorry,” Peter mumbled, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, half turned away.

“There’s nothing to apologise for. Look at me.” Tony reached out, gently turning Peter’s chin to face him. “You’re afraid to go to sleep?”

Peter nodded.

“Then I have an idea. Something I used to do when I was a kid.” Tony stood and walked to the door, turning back when Peter didn’t move. “Are you coming?”

Slowly, Peter got to his feet and followed Tony out of his room. They went to the cupboard at the end of the corridor, Tony throwing the doors open and grabbing as many blankets as he could hold. “Here,” he said, giving them to Peter to hold before marching towards the lounge.

He worked in silence, arranging chairs, throwing cushions on the floor, and finally draping the blankets over his creation.

“Really?” Peter asked, looking down at the blanket fort. “I’m not five, Mister Stark.”

Tony bit back a smile at the ‘old Peter’ showing. “Neither was I, kid.” He bent down and lifted one of the blankets hanging down, “You going in or have I wasted both our time?”

A smile pulled at Peter’s mouth as he crawled into the fort, Tony following just behind and letting the ‘door’ fall closed again. “Fri, lights.” The lamp Tony had dragged in flicked on at the same time the room lights dimmed.

They sat in comfortable silence, the fort almost feeling like a separate world to the one outside. As if nothing evil could break through the walls, and everything would be okay. Peter shuffled closer to Tony, then closer still.

Tony couldn’t suppress his smile this time, he held his arm out. “Come on then,” Peter practically launched into Tony, cuddling up against his chest while Tony mindlessly wound his fingers through Peter’s hair. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Peter whispered. “Thank you, Mister Stark.”

Tony let another moment of silence hang before he spoke again. “Why don’t you want to sleep?”

Peter took a deep breath. “The hallucinations, they- Shocker had some way of controlling them, Chitauri tech, I think. He got it from that guy who worked with Vulture. And, the things he showed me-”

Tony kept quiet as Peter spoke, fighting back tears as he held his kid closer.

“It was hell, Mister Stark. I don’t know what’s real anymore.” Peter hung his head, ashamed. “He’d… he’d hurt me, looking like you. The other Avengers too.” He sniffed. Wiped his eyes. “Every time I close my eyes, I’m back there. Every time I look at you, I can’t help but see the  _ other you. _ ”

Leaning down, Tony pressed a kiss to the top of Peter’s curls. “I’m real, kiddo. And I’m never going to hurt you.”

Peter looked up, his eyes shining. “Promise.”

“Promise. We’ll figure this out together, how does that sound?”

“I like it.” Peter cuddled closer, the pair shuffling so they lay on the myriad of cushions in the fort. He drifted off, wrapped in the safety of Tony’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :D


	4. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter reunites with the friends and family he never thought he’d see again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Monday, another chapter! 
> 
> Today's prompts are: Therapy/Emotional Support Pet | Baking | Car Ride | Park | Movie Night | Cuddling | Junk Food | Memory Lane

A week had passed since Tony found the kid in the basement, and Peter was doing… Well, Tony was optimistic. His talks with Sam seemed to be doing good, and he didn’t insist on locking himself in his room all day every day, though hanging out with the Avengers was still limited to a few minutes at a time. Peter just wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

He was, however, ready to finally reunite with his favourite little sister. When Friday announced Pepper and Morgan pulling up in the drive, Peter bounded to the foyer grinning from ear to ear. The sight tugged at Tony’s heartstrings; he couldn’t remember the last time the kid smiled that much.

Pepper got out first, smiling warmly as she waved at Peter before moving to Morgan’s door and pulling it open. Morgan jumped out, gravel crunching underfoot as she hit the ground and charged forward. “Petey!”

Peter knelt and held his arms out, laughing as he wrapped Morgan in the biggest hug and swept her off the floor. Morgan locked her legs around Peter’s waist, her head buried in his chest. “Hey,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to Morgan’s hair, “I missed you so much, Morgs.”

She looked up, gleaming eyes meeting Peter’s. “Are you staying this time?”

Peter nodded so furiously a tear or two fell from his own eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of leaving.”

“What?” Tony said, shaking his head. “No hello for your old man?”

“Hi, Daddy.”

Tony walked forward, arm in arm with Pepper, and pressed a kiss to Morgan’s forehead. “Love you, Squirt.”

Peter manoeuvred Morgan to rest on his hip. “Can we bake those cakes now?”

“Of course, I kicked out the rest of the team so it’s just us today. I call the kid, by the way. Pep you can take Little Miss.”

Pepper tickled Morgan’s chin, “It’s not even going to be a challenge,” she laughed, “It takes Daddy three hours to make an omelette.”

Morgan laughed as Peter set her down and she skipped off with Pepper. Peter looked up at Tony, his eyes wide. “Three hours?”

“That was one time.”

“Still. Three’s quite a while for an omelette.”

Tony folded his arms as they headed towards the kitchen. “Okay, how long does it take  _ you _ to cook an omelette.”

Peter hung his head. “May banned me from the kitchen after The Incident.”

“The Incident?”

“We vowed never to speak of it.”

“Remind me again why we agreed to this competition?”

Pepper and Morgan were collecting their ingredients and equipment from various cupboards and arranging them on their half of the countertop. Music blared out of Friday’s speakers, and Pepper hummed while Morgan loudly sang along. Peter jumped right in to join her, twirling her around in a miniature dance routine.

Tony watched on. His family, back together. Happy at last. Pepper caught his eye, sharing a knowing smile with a twinkle in her eye. He clapped his hands, “Alright, kid. Stop fraternising with the enemy and get over here.”

A grin spread across Peter’s face. “I’m not fraternising,” he turned and grabbed as many ingredients as he could hold and ran over to Tony. “I’m sabotaging.”

“Petey!” Morgan gasped, hurrying to pick up a fallen bag of flour. “No fair!”

“Don’t worry, Sweetie. Espionage won’t get them far,” Pepper teased, lifting Morgan up onto the counter. She turned to the others, “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

Tony tuned her out, focusing instead on the pile of ingredients in front of them. He picked up a bag of sugar, turning it over in his hands and studying it. “Now what are we supposed to do?”

* * *

A thin layer of icing sugar veiled every surface in the kitchen, blobs of cake mix splashed up the cupboard doors from where Peter underestimated the strength of the food processor. But, somehow, two cakes now sat on the kitchen table. One covered in red and blue Spider-Man themed decorations - Morgan’s idea - and the other covered with small, vaguely circular, brightly coloured pieces of fondant made to look like the balloons from  _ Up. _ Hand drawn chocolate ‘strings’ attached to the roof of a house just peeking over the bottom of the cake. It didn’t look  _ great _ , but also not exactly  _ bad _ .

Morgan bounced up and down, already fueled up on cake mix. “Can we eat them now?”

“Not yet, Squirt.” Tony knelt and winked, making Morgan giggle. “We have that  _ thing  _ first, remember?” He looked up at Pepper and waggled his eyebrows.

“Subtle,” Pepper deadpanned. She turned to face Peter. “Per Tony’s request, we’re to take Morgan to the park while he sets up a surprise.”

Peter’s eyes widened as fear crept up his spine. He locked eyes with Tony, who’s relaxed gaze worked to soothe him.

“Don’t worry, kid. You’re gonna love what I have planned, and there’s no pressure to go out if you’re not ready.”

Peter set his jaw, nodding a little. “N-No. I, uh, I want to go.”

Morgan ran forward and locked his hand in an iron tight grip, tugging him towards the foyer. “Come on, Petey, let’s go!” Peter couldn’t help but laugh as he ran along with her, Pepper not too far behind.

Before Peter even realised it, they were in Pepper’s car and driving towards the closest play park. Though he knew the roads like the back of his hand, the journey felt surreal. Subtle things had changed over the year he’d been gone - a few hedges missing, a handful of newly planted trees, the garage door of a house painted a different colour.

His mind drifted to other things that could have changed. Was Ellis still the President? It’s not like Peter had checked since his freedom. And what about Midtown? Ned and MJ would have graduated and moved on to college by now… He hadn’t worked up the nerve to speak to them beyond a handful of texts yet, God how he wanted to, though.

Pepper glanced across the car and noticed Peter’s leg bouncing and the way he chewed on his fingernails as he stared out of the window. “Morgan, how about you tell Peter what you did at school today?”

In the backseat, Morgan squealed with excitement. “We dressed up as superheroes!”

Grinning, Peter turned and looked back at her. “Let me guess, you went as your Dad?”

Morgan shook her head. “I dressed as Spider-Man!”

Peter quickly faced forward again as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. “Oh, that’s… That’s awesome, Morgs.”

“Mummy wouldn’t let me borrow your web-shooters, though.”

Pepper chuckled. “I absolutely didn’t. She’d be out fighting crime just like her brother.” She pulled into the car park and stepped out, hurrying to open Morgan’s door before she exploded from excitement. 

Morgan sprinted into the play park, heading straight for the climbing frame, while Pepper and Peter followed behind, the latter unusually quiet. They sat on a bench, waving to Morgan as she deftly scaled to the top.

“You know,” Pepper said, “There’s no pressure to go back to being Spider-Man. No one expects you to get back into the swing of things just like that.”

“Pun intended?” Peter forced a smile but quickly dropped it, hanging his head. “It’s just, the people of Queens are relying on me and… and I’ve let them all down.”

“Oh, honey. You haven’t let anyone down, least of all the people you saved countless times. Plus, we ‘leaked’ to the press that Spider-Man was on a mission with the Guardians if that makes you feel any better.”

Peter chuckled, “Yeah, it does actually.”

Pepper cupped a hand to his cheek. “Take as much time as you need. If you’re never ready, if you’re ready tomorrow, it’s all fine. We’re all supporting you.”

“Petey! Petey!” Morgan yelled, now sitting on one of the swingsets.

Peter jumped to his feet, “That’s me.”

* * *

Tony could tell the kid was anxious the second they returned to the facility, more so than usual. A pang of guilt stabbed through his heart when he realised it was his own fault. He plastered a casual smile across his face and sidled up to Peter, slinging his arm over the kid’s shoulders and pulling him close.

“You’re gonna love it, Pete,” he said, dropping his voice low enough for only Peter to hear. “I promise.”

Peter nodded with a weak attempt at a smile.

“Daddy!” Morgan ran up to Tony and slipped her hand into his as they walked through the facility.

“Hey, Squirt. You three have a good time at the park?”

“We played pirates!” For emphasis, Morgan swung her free hand like a swashbuckling pirate mid sword battle while Pepper and Tony laughed along with her. 

Tony gave Peter’s shoulder a squeeze as they neared the lounge, a pair of voices drifting from within. Peter turned to face Tony, his mouth turned upwards.

“Go ahead.” Tony nudged him forward, struggling to hold the surprise secret any longer.

Peter’s legs carried him forward of their own accord, turning the corner into the lounge where two beaming faces stared back. “Ned… MJ…?”

“Dude!” Ned charged forward and barrelled into Peter. “I can’t believe you’re here!”

Laughing, Peter returned the hug. “I can’t believe  _ you’re _ here.  _ How  _ are you here?”

“Mister Stark arranged it. Came to pick us up after class.” They pulled apart, easily falling into their handshake - Peter was surprised he still remembered it.

“Hey, Doofus,” MJ grinned, locking Peter in a hug just as furious as Ned’s, though pulled away quickly. Behind them, Tony snickered at the young pair’s awkward innocence, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Pepper.

A disbelieving laugh escaped Peter’s lips as he looked between his friends. “This is so surreal. You came all the way out here just to see you me?”

“Of course we did,” Ned replied.

“That’s what happens when you think your best friend is dead for a year,” MJ added.

The reality of how life had been for everyone else hit Peter like a ton of bricks. They’d thought he was  _ dead… _ And after Tony risked not only his life, but the existence of his family, to get him back. He whirled around, tears pricking at his eyes. “Y-You really thought…? I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, no,” Tony consoled, “It’s not your fault, not at all. Everything that happened is because of Shocker. No one else.”

“He’s right,” Ned chipped in, “You don’t need to be sorry.”

Tony shrugged, spreading his hands and tilting his head. “Must be true if me and Tweedledum agree on something. Now, let’s get this show on the road. Friday, if you’d do the honours.”

As Tony spoke, Friday lit up the TV screen.  _ “What are we watching, Boss?” _

“Aladdin,” Ned and Peter said simultaneously, gaining looks from the rest of the occupants. Peter scratched the back of his head nervously, “Uh… Me and Ned watched it all the time when we were kids.”

“Aladdin it is.” Tony ushered everyone onto the sofa as Friday started the film. “I’ve ordered from every takeaway I could find, cake for dessert. No one’s leaving this couch until it’s dark out.”

Peter sat sandwiched between Ned and MJ, Morgan sitting on Tony’s lap on the other sofa while Pepper cuddled into his side. 

“Dude, you remember when we were, like, twelve and watched this so many times that Ben pretended there was a power cut and messed with the fuse box?” Ned laughed.

“Yeah,” Peter grinned as the memory washed over him. “I’d almost forgotten about that. We ate dinner surrounded by candles waiting for the power to come back on. Years later he told me it was the singing-”

“He didn’t like our singing?” Ned asked, faking offence.

“I couldn’t imagine why.”

“Wait,” Tony cut in, “You two aren’t going to sing tonight, right?”

Ned and Peter glanced across at MJ, all three smiling. Peter responded with a smirk. “No… The  _ three _ of us are going to sing tonight.”

* * *

Empty take-out boxes littered the floor, various plates covered the coffee table alongside two half-eaten cakes. Tony had been surprised when his and Peter’s was not only edible, but tasted half-decent too. He pressed a soft kiss to Pepper’s temple as she cuddled closer into his side, on the verge of sleep.

On the other sofa, Ned’s head rested on Peter’s shoulder, Peter’s on top of Ned’s. MJ had undoubtedly shuffled closer, their fingertips just barely brushing together on the soft fabric. Morgan made herself comfortable spread across the laps of all three. One of them was snoring gently, Tony’s bet was on Peter.

“Fri,” he whispered, “Turn the film off, would you?” Silently, Friday followed the command, turning off  _ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. _

As the screen’s glow faded, Pepper looked up at Tony and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

“A little past midnight,” Tony whispered, not taking his eyes from the pile of kids across from them. Pepper followed his gaze, laughing softly.

“Who’d have thought we’d ever end up with so many kids.” 

Tony chuckled. “And they’re all together, in the same room. Safe… Alive.”

“Hey,” Pepper lightly turned Tony’s chin to face her, “And they’re staying that way, okay? Peter’s not going anywhere again.”

“Not if I have a say in it.”

“He seems to be doing well, getting back to his old self.”

Tony sighed, “There’s good days and bad. Today was great, but sometimes the poor kid can hardly bring himself to look at any of us. Wilson’s done wonders helping Pete, I won’t ever be able to repay him.”

“You ever consider that maybe Sam’s not looking for repayment. Everyone loves Peter, they all want to help.” Pepper sat straighter and cupped Tony’s face in both her hands, kissing his forehead. “Come on, let’s go to bed. The kids are fine together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :D


	5. Two Steps Forward...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...one step back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Batten down the hatches and hold on tight yall, its time for a healthy serving of angst
> 
> Prompts: Road Trip | Campfire | Hot Cocoa | Flashbacks | Exhaustion

Peter watched the trees zip past the window, one hand shielding his eyes from the slowly setting sun. In the backseat, Ned and MJ belted along to the radio - some new song he’d missed - while May filled in the harmonies from the driver’s seat.

Though he tried, Peter couldn’t hide the anxious bounce of his leg or the tightness of his shoulder muscles. As the song turned instrumental and Ned and MJ broke out into some sort of complicated dance routine, May glanced across at Peter and caught his eye.

_ “Are you okay?” _ She mouthed, astute enough to not outright ask in front of the others.

Peter flashed a smile and nodded. Because he was okay. He  _ was _ . Logically he knew that, but the constant hum of his spidey-sense told him otherwise. Between being surrounded by literal superheroes, and having the best extended family a person could ask for, Peter knew he was possibly one of the safest people on the planet. Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

“Dude,” Ned said as the song came to an end, “We have to catch you up on everything you missed when we get home. It’ll take a day at least just for the memes.”

Peter chuckled, both happy for Ned’s offer and feeling a twang of remorse at remembering how much he’d missed out on. “Yeah... That’d be awesome.”

“Looks like we’re here,” May said, pulling off of the main road and onto a dusty, dirt path. “Hopefully, Tony and the others aren’t too mad about our little detour.” She laughed and pointed to the huge pile of sweet wrappers and empty Mcdonalds boxes in Peter’s footwell.

“Even if they are,” MJ said between stuffing more food in her mouth, “it was worth it.”

Ned nodded solemnly. “Seconded.”

May pulled to a stop next to Happy’s car, and the four jumped out. They grabbed their bags from the boot and started down a path leading off into the trees.

After The Snap, once Tony had recovered and the world was beginning to pull itself somewhat back together, Pepper took Tony on a camping trip just to get out of the city for a couple of days. They went a year after, a few months old Morgan in tow. It became a tradition, one Morgan spent the year looking forward too, only Tony had been too busy searching for Peter to go last year. To make up for it, and to celebrate Peter’s return, the whole family was going this year.

They reached the campsite, four tents set up around an as yet unlit campfire with segments of tree trunks arranged as benches. 

“Finally,” Happy said as they approached. “We were beginning to think you’d got lost.” He took May’s bag and set it down outside the closest tent before pointing to the next one over. “That one is for you kids. Set the sleeping bags up myself.”

“Thanks!” Ned led the way over and ducked inside, MJ followed behind him. “Oh, this is so cool.”

“It’s literally just a tent,” MJ deadpanned.

Peter slung his bag down and turned his attention to the firepit. Tony stood, his arms folded across his chest, and watched Rhodey crouched down trying to light it.

“Urgh,” Rhodey groaned, his striker’s sparks not catching. “Why won’t this work?”

“You’re doing it wrong,” Tony said, “You need to use more pressure-”

“Yeah, thanks. I know how to light a fire.”

“Mm, yeah I can really tell.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Tony sunk to Rhodey’s level, reaching out for the fire strike. “Let me then.”

“What no!” Rhodey nudged him away. “I’m doing it.”

“Fine.” Tony straightened up, crossing his arms once again. “Struggle.”

“There’s something wrong with the kindling you collected. It’s got to be wet or something-”

“You can ask Pep, there’s nothing wrong with my wo-”

“Do  _ not _ finish that sentence,” Pepper said, emerging from a tent. “Nobody wants to hear it.” Tony just shot her a smirk.

“Yes!” Rhodey jumped up, almost uppercutting Tony’s chin as he celebrated the small fire crackling in the pit. “Take that, Tones.”

“Great. I’d have had it done an hour ago, but sure, well done.” Tony slung his arm over Rhodey’s shoulder and led him to one of the log benches.

“Petey!” Morgan squealed, latching onto Peter’s leg.

“Hey, Morgs,” Peter said, scooping her into his arms as Pepper came over to join them. The campfire grew, lighting the area as the sun continued to fade. “How about we make some hot cocoa? I have cups and powder in my bag.”

“Yeah! I love hot cocoa!”

Ned stepped out of his tent. “Did someone say hot cocoa? ‘Cause if so, I’m in.” He picked up Peter’s bag and brought it over.

“How can you two still want more sugar?” May asked. “Didn’t you get enough on the drive over here?”

“Oh, so that’s where you were?” Tony asked. “I see how it is. We’re less important than food.”

“No, no. It wasn’t like that, Mister Stark! I swear-”

“Hey, don’t stress it, kid. I’m messing with you.” He clapped his hands together, “Let’s make cocoa!”

* * *

Peter still had his mug cupped in his hands, though the remaining liquid had long gone cold. Everyone else had already retired to their tents and the fire burned low in the pit, though it still gave off enough heat to keep Peter warm.

He wasn’t sure what time it was, past midnight at least. They’d talked long into the night, sharing stories, playing games, singing the campfire songs Tony and Rhodey remembered from their boy scout days. At one point Morgan drifted off to sleep with her head Peter’s lap.

And the whole time he still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

Sleep would be futile, he knew that for sure. His spidey-sense simply wouldn’t allow him to relax enough to get any rest. Just like most nights recently.

Without warning, a scream resonated from Tony and Pepper’s tent and Morgan sprinted out, running off into the woods with tears streaming down her face. 

“Morgan!” Peter jumped up, desperately trying to untangle himself from the blanket wrapped around his legs without falling into the fire. Tony stumbled out, eyes wide as he tried to fight off remnants of sleep. They met eyes for a brief moment, Peter finally freed himself. “She went this way.”

Peter took off, following the distant sound of Morgan’s footsteps. He was faster than Tony, much faster. The trees blurred into a wall of brown as he ran, their branches twisting together overhead and blocking out almost every ounce of moonlight.

The sound of footsteps stopped, though Peter kept running. “Morgan!” He prayed for a reply, though none came. His spidey-sense screamed inside his head.

A tree root caught Peter’s ankle, sending him face first into the dirt. He twisted around, frantically clawing at his leg to release its clawing grip on him before shuffling away and panting hard.

Someone was following him.  _ No. Please, no. _

Peter sprang to his feet and fled, pumping his legs to move faster than he ever had before. Twigs crunched under his feet, branches scratched at his face and hands as he batted them out of his path. Still, he ran. He had to get away. He couldn’t go back.

Not again.

Bursting from the treeline, Peter emerged into some sort of clearing. Hardly more than a few paces wide, though enough to allow light to break through the canopy. Morgan stood in the centre tears streaming down her face, eyes wide.

_ Morgan. He had to protect her. _

“Morgan!” Peter shouted, charging forward and lifting her into his arms, wrapping them protectively around her. “It’s okay, Morgs. I’ve got you. You’re safe with me. I’ve got you.” He kept up the gentle whispers as Morgan sobbed into his jacket, spinning around in search of the best place to hide.

Someone else stormed into the clearing, their back to the moon, face obscured in shadow. “Morgan!” They cried, stepping forward. “Oh, thank God-”

Peter flinched away, his face the picture of terror. The other person froze. “Please,” Peter begged, “Please don’t take me back. Don’t take  _ Morgan _ . I’ll do anything.” He hugged Morgan closer. “Let her go.”

“Peter, it’s okay.” The figure said slowly, holding their hands out in surrender. Peter knew it was a trick. “I don’t know what you’re seeing right now, but it’s not what you think.”

“Get away!” Peter yelled, a strangled sob escaping his mouth.

“Kid,” the figure’s voice cracked, “put Morgan down, she’s scared.”

Peter looked down at Morgan in his arms. She was staring up at him, eyes as wide as saucers and tear filled. “Petey? What’s wrong?”

“It’s- He’s-” Peter stammered. “He’s trying to hurt you!”

Someone else came up behind the figure. “Wait,” The figure said, waving a hand at them, “just... wait.” 

“Daddy would never hurt me,” Morgan said, sounding confused.

“No, Morgs, that’s not- It can’t be-”

“She’s right, kid. Listen to my voice. You know it’s me, it’s Tony.”

Peter squeezed his eyes shut. It was a trick, all of it was a trick. Designed to hurt him, to break him. Yet something in the back of his mind needed to be sure. “Mister Stark…?”

Tony let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, Pete. That’s right.”

“P-Prove it.”

“Alright, um…” Tony raked his hands through his hair, trying to think of something. “Okay, how about the blanket fort. We slept in there all night, and Steve, the idiot that he is, didn’t turn the lounge light on and damn near trampled all over us, yeah? But he didn’t, because he stubbed his toe on a chair leg and swore so loudly he woke us up.”

Tears poured down Peter’s face. “It’s really you?”

“It’s me. I promise.”

Peter collapsed to his knees, setting Morgan down as he did so. She ran straight into Tony’s arms. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

“It’s okay, Morguna.” Tony sounded breathless. “Just… Just go with Uncle Rhodey, he’ll take you back to Mummy. We’ll be right behind you.” Tony handed Morgan to Rhodey behind him, watching them go for a few seconds before running to Peter’s side. “Kid? Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Peter panted, sweat dripping from his forehead. “I just… I thought you…”

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m here.” He rubbed circles on Peter’s back, the kid melted into his embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Mister Stark,” he cried. “I didn’t mean to scare Morgan. I’m so, so sorry-”

“Stop it. You don’t need to be sorry.” He held Peter closer, fighting back tears of his own. “Let it all out. I’m not going anywhere.”

Peter took a few moments to compose himself, taking deep, deliberate breaths while Tony whispered soothingly, never once loosening his hold. Once it had passed, Peter’s voice was so raw it was barely a whisper. “I thought I was back there. I thought- I thought it was happening again.”

“Happening again?”

Peter nodded against Tony’s chest. “I- I don’t know how long after he… after he took me, but I got out. I- I escaped from the basement and started running but, uh, but the drugs were still affecting me and… And he caught up to me and-” Peter cut himself off, another attack of tears threatening to overtake him. “It’s like I was back there all over again.”

“Well, your safe now. I promise.”

“I know,” Peter breathed, “you’re here.”

Tony tried to pretend like hearing that didn’t shatter his heart into pieces, then stick them together only to break once more. He looked down at the kid in his arms, curled up as small as he could make himself, eyelids drooping shut. “Come on, kid, you’re exhausted. Let’s get back to camp.”

“I don’t think I can,” Peter mumbled, clearly already fighting off sleep.

“I think this old man can still carry you-” he manoeuvred Peter to a more comfortable position and stood, a slight groan escaping his mouth as his back resisted. “-Just about, at least.”

The only reply he received was Peter’s gentle snores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow me @ thedumbestavenger on tumblr if you want sneak peeks at my next fic coming sometime vaguely soonish!


	6. The Boy Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally looking up for Peter Parker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a day late y'all, had a migraine and couldn't write for a good part of the week. But I'm good now and really looking forward to my next project! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

“Hey, kid, pass me that screwdriver.”

Peter picked up the screwdriver and threw it Tony’s direction without looking up from his new and improved web-fluid solution. Judging by the lack of pained scream, the older man caught it.

“Thanks.” A few metallic clinks sounded from Tony’s workbench. “How’s it coming?”

“Uh,” Peter stopped stirring the solution and studied it for a few seconds, “Almost there. It needs to rest for a couple minutes, first. You?”

Tony set the pair of web-shooters down and rubbed his hands together. “I’m just about done here.”

“Awesome.” Peter joined him at the table and examined the new tech. “Wow! Mister Stark, they look so cool.”

“What’d you expect?” Tony raised an eyebrow. “I made them.”

“ _ We _ made them,” Peter corrected, “Still, I didn’t think the whole white and black thing was gonna work.” He looked up from the workbench, gaze falling instead on the manakin wearing the latest iteration of the Spider-Man suit, mainly white with black accents to match the web-shooters.

Despite Rhodey combing the house where Peter had been found, his suit had never turned up. Presumably, Shocker had it destroyed. Besides, this new suit felt like a fresh start both for Peter and Tony. Putting Shocker and Thanos and Vulture and everything else they’d been through behind them, and ushering in a new era where - hopefully - life-threatening events were significantly cut down.

“Here,” Tony pressed the web-shooters into Peter’s hands, “Get suited, and we’ll give them a test run.”

A few minutes later, Peter stood in the suit with his mask clutched in one hand. Tony filled a couple of vials of web-fluid and fitted them to the shooters at Peter’s wrists, stepping back to give the kid room. 

Peter held his arms out in front of him, taking in the new, sleeker design. “Okay, yeah. This is really cool.”

Tony smirked, “Yeah, it is. Now, you gonna test it out or should I bring a mirror in here-” He shut up abruptly as Peter shot a web at his hand, sticking it to the worktop. Looking first at his hand, then back up to the grinning kid, Tony said, “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”

“Sorry, Mister Stark.” Peter forced the smile from his face, replacing it with feigned sincerity. “The web-shooters must be too sensitive or something. I  _ totally  _ didn’t mean to do that.”

“I’m this close to taking your suit away again.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Peter’s grin returned tenfold. “You look a little stuck to me.”

“Yeah, as fun as all this is, can you unstick me now?”

“Um…” Peter put his hand to his chin, pretending to think. “There’s something you’ve got to do for me, first.”

“This got sadistic all of a sudden,” Tony muttered. “Sure, kid. What do you want?”

Peter dropped his gaze to the floor, the colour fading from his cheeks. He wrung the mask in his hands.

“Pete? Everything alright?”

“Yeah, uh… It’s just… Well, I wanna go back. Back to, uh, to the basement. I… I need to see it again.”

Tony stood in shocked silence, watching as the kid slowly lifted his head to meet his eyes.

“Mister Stark?”

Shaking himself from his stupor, Tony replied, “Right… Right, yeah.” His brow furrowed. “You sure that’s something you want to do?”

“It’s not that I want to, but I need to. I… I need to see it for what it really is, rather than what Shocker made it into. Not a dungeon filled with all these… these horrible things. Just a basement.”

Tony nodded slowly. “Okay. We can do that. I’ll call the owners-”

“The owners?” Peter’s head snapped back to Tony. “I thought- I though Shocker…”

“So did I, but Ross pulled some strings and found them holed up in an apartment in Florida. Apparently, Shocker threatened their kids if they didn’t leave. Sorry, I thought you knew already.”

Peter let out a breath, a small smile playing at the edge of his mouth. “That’s… That’s awesome.”

“You know what would be awesome? Not being stuck to a desk for the next three hours.” Tony nodded once. “That sounds pretty good to me.”

* * *

“Alright, coming in to land.” Tony glanced back over his shoulder, eyes falling on the white-knuckled grip Peter had of May’s hand. He turned forward again, a shiver running down his spine as he caught sight of the farmhouse in the forest clearing. “Hold tight, been a while since I’ve done one of these.”

Despite his joke, Tony brought the Quinjet down gracefully and hit a switch in the cockpit to lower the door. He stood, brushing his clammy hands off on his trousers, and walking towards the pair. “Y’know, kid,” Tony said, crouching and squeezing Peter’s knee, “you don’t have to do this. We’re here for whatever you want, and if that’s to turn around and go back home, we’ll do just that.”

Peter let out a shaky breath, his free hand trembling. “I… I think I need a minute.”

Silently, Tony nodded and slipped his hand into Peter’s. He bowed his head, eyes closed, as he tried to imagine what Peter must be feeling. Even the thought of returning to the cave where he’d been kept captive set Tony on edge, and he’d only been through a fraction of what the kid had.

They stayed that way for a long moment, all three in silent support of the others, until Peter stood up. A look of determination spread across his face.

Tony stood too, meeting the kid’s eyes. “You ready?”

“No,” Peter admitted, “But let’s go.”

Tony led the way off the jet and towards the house. He took the steps two at a time and pushed the door open, a flood of memories cascading out. The heartache when Scott hadn't mentioned seeing Peter, the hopeful fear as his eyes once again befell the basement door. He couldn’t bring himself to open it, Peter’s screams still echoed inside his skull.

When Peter, too, made no effort towards the door, May reached out her hand and rested it on the handle. She glanced back at Peter, who gave a short nod, before she opened it up, allowing the door to swing on its creaky hinges until it hit the wall.

Peter took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself, and started down the stairs. Tony followed, one hand on the kid’s shoulder to help keep him grounded to reality, and May was close behind.

It was clear no one had been down since that night; the place had somehow grown dustier and the cobwebs more numerous. Peter weaved his way through the maze of storage boxes, trailing his fingertips gently against their surfaces and leaving streaks in the dust. Rounding the final corner, he froze. Tony didn’t blame him, his own heart was in his mouth.

The grime on the floor was noticeably thinner where Peter had been kept, the bottom half of the rusty old pipe covered in scratches from his restraints.

The three of them stood, silent. Staring at the spot on the floor. Peter swallowed stickily, “It’s just a basement, huh?”

Though his joke far from landed, Tony couldn’t help but snort a laugh at the absurdity. Of course, it was far more than a basement. It was a hell of hole the devil’s making. But looking around… it hardly looked different to the under-used basement of the average person. “Just a basement…” he echoed.

May squeezed Peter’s shoulder. “You okay, honey?”

He nodded slowly, then turned around to face them. His eyes were wet with unshed tears, but his mouth was pressed into a determined thin line. “I am. I really am.”

“Ready to go home?”

“Not yet. I want to stay a little longer.”

Tony stepped forward and kissed the top of the kid’s head. “Whatever you need, kiddo.”

* * *

Almost a week passed since they returned to the farmhouse, and Peter seemed to be doing well. He’d started to hang out with the other Avengers more often - though he still preferred if Tony, May, or Rhodey were there - he frequented the park, even a supermarket, with Pepper and Morgan, and most importantly, he had a good start of the path to recovery.

During this time, he’d worked alongside Tony in the lab to put the finishing touches on his new Spider-Man suit and web-fluid - including a more sophisticated tracker.

Peter stood in the centre of the lab, having just finished running a final set of tests when his phone chimed with an email.

“What’s that?” Tony asked.

“Uh…” Peter grabbed his phone and read quickly. “It’s my timetable for school next week.”

Tony put down the vial of web-fluid in his hand and turned his full attention to Peter. “Everything okay? You know no one’s forcing you to go back unless you want to.”

“For the last time, Mister Stark. I do want to go back, even if Ned and MJ and everyone else isn’t there.” He kept reading. “Abe - y’know, from Academic Decathlon - sent me his timetable the other day, looks like we share a bunch of classes. I’ll be fine, really.”

“That the thing, I want you to be better than just  _ ‘fine’ _ .”

“Okay, then I’m good. Great. Amazing. Out of this world-”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I get it, kid. Just want to make sure you’re happy.”

Peter looked up, beaming. “I am, Mister Stark. I promise.”

“Good,” Tony nodded, “That’s all I needed to hear.”

Peter quickly closed the space between them, wrapping Tony in a fierce hug and burying his face in his chest. Tony returned the gesture, kissing Peter’s cheek. “I love you, Mister Stark.”

“I love you too, kid.”

“So,” Peter pulled away, “Can I take the suit out for a spin? A real one, I mean.”

Tony’s face took on the now well-worn expression of a concerned parent. “Outside?”

“Yeah.”

“With real people?”

“Obviously.”

Tony hummed. “You ready for that?”

“Absolutely,” Peter nodded, the same determined look on his face as at the farmhouse.

“Then who am I to stop you.”

Peter just managed to hold back his excitement enough to refrain from jumping up and down on the spot. “Thank you, Mister Stark!” He tugged his mask over his face and shot a web at the window latch, allowing it to fall open.

Tony looked between the window and the kid. “You know we have doors, right?”

“Doors? Where I’m going I don’t need doors.” Peter lept to the window, hovering half inside, half out. “I’ll be back by six.”

“You’d better, I’m making my lasagne.”

“Awesome!” Peter shot a web off into the distance. “See you later, Mister Stark!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! The end of Comfortember 2020! I can't believe it's almost Christmas! I've used far too many exclamation marks!
> 
> Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this little adventure, it would be awesome if you left a comment if you did :D Can't wait to share my next fic with you! I'm going to talk about it over on tumblr (@ thedumbestavenger) when I've written a little more so come join me if you want to find more!


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